Roadwork not cause of crash at crossover

A safe movement violation, not nearby construction, was the cause of a three-car accident Tuesday morning at U.S. 70 East and the entrance to the Village of Walnut Creek, according to the Highway Patrol report.

Trooper Frankie Davis said Wilbur Hendrixson, 88, attempted to drive across the highway's eastbound lanes at about 8:15 a.m. but ran into oncoming traffic in the 1996 green Chevrolet S-10 truck he was driving.

Hendrixson struck Ronda Dobbs' Chevrolet Tahoe causing the vehicle to spin out and hit a 1997 Ford truck. That truck, owned by Barnhill Contracting Co., was being contracted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation for expanding the lanes near the Walnut Creek entrance and the construction of a directional crossover at the intersection of Beston Road and U.S. 70.

Although no one was injured in the accident, local business and property owners feared the construction of a directional crossover, which will prohibit vehicles from directly crossing the highway from Beston Road, would put more traffic at other medians such as the Walnut Creek entrance and cause more accidents.

The accident caused an estimated $2,000 in damage to Hendrixson's truck and another $2,000 to the Barnhill Contracting Co. truck, Davis said. Damage to Mrs. Dobbs' Tahoe was estimated at $8,000.